We've got a new addiction...

Here you have T-ara's new single, "Yayayaya".  I do not possess the words to adequately describe this song or their music video.  You'll just have to watch it for yourself.  It's been stuck in my head all day.  The boy and I have been trying to figure out who should be more offended- Native Americans or overweight men?

A Day in the Life...

of a hagwon teacher.


There are really three types of English teachers in Korea.  You have the public school teachers who get more job security and significantly more vacation days.  You have the teachers who teach private lessons and make bank but risk getting deported back to their homeland because it's illegal.  Then you have the ubiquitous hagwon teachers.  These teachers work at after school academies for slightly more money but fewer vacation days.

I am the latter.

My school caters to elementary school students.  These kids have already spent their entire day at public school and then they come to us for 2 more hours- sometimes more.  Classes are either 2, 3, or 5 days a week.  It's insane just how much Korean children attend some form of school.  I fully plan on threatening to send my future children to Korea if they misbehave in any way.  That'll teach 'em.

So what is a typical day like at my school?  Why here, let me show you...

First things first, don a face mask.  Swine flu's been wreaking havoc on our school and little children tend to spread disease faster than I can say "holy swine flu batman".   Also, all of the teachers share one large teacher's lounge where we spend a few hours of our day.  If one gets sick, others will surely follow.

We get to work at around 1 pm.  Our first class starts at 2:30.   It gives us a good hour and a half to get all of our lessons planned and prepared for the day.  It's also when we usually eat our lunch.  Something about our school makes us hungry all.the.time.  The second I walk through the door I find myself instantly famished.  We also usually teach all day with only 5 minutes in between classes.  We normally take that time to stuff our faces with cereal or peanut buttered bread.  nom nom nom.

At 2:30 the bell rings (Pachelbel's Canon, mind you) and I spend the remainder of my day forming young minds like these...

Julie

Sweet Emily

Showing off their work.

Jenny giving me her pose

Jenny wanted to take my picture & even told me how to pose

Silly Andy

My biggest class boasting some of my youngest students.

These are just a handful of the classes that I teach.  I can have anywhere from one to ten students in a class.  You must meet Jacob.

Jacob holds a special place in all of our hearts at Langcon.  He's notorious for his little tantrums.  Most of them involve throwing his backpack and trying to rip his school books.  Lucky for me, I get to teach the handsome little devil.  Don't let this picture fool you.  I had to tame him with that cup of valium cereal.  He comes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays but he hates, nay- despises Wednesdays.  That's when we work out of his least favorite book.  I usually spend the majority of the class trying to talk him out of eating his book.  Today I told him that he'd have a real hard time trying to find a girlfriend if he kept up with his bad attitude.  His response?  "Teacher is ugly."  Head meet desk. 

At 7:35 the last bell rings and all of us teachers head back to our lounge to unwind and get things in order for the following day.  The day actually flies by, especially with back to back classes.  It's also nice to work with the co-teachers that I have.  We can usually find the humor in any situation and having them there makes the "work" more enjoyable. 

And there you have it.  A little peek at my work days.

It's here!

The boy finished our video for La Casa de la Playa.  This was one of the best resorts I've ever stayed at.  The owners, Terry and Emily really made the experience enjoyable.  You absolutely must stay here if you ever find yourself on Siquijor island. 

Watch more travel videos at tripfilms.com

Hotel Review

Casa de la Playa, Siquijor, Philippines

Well Shoot Me in the Bum.

Quite literally. 

I went back to the doc's today to get a check up.  I swear I've got liquid in my lungs.  I can hear it when I breathe and I can practically feel it when I cough.   I know my body and I know when something's wrong.   This doctor didn't even check my lungs.  He thinks it's just something in my throat.  No no no sir.  I'm no doctor, but I believe you are wrong. 

So he prescribed mea shot in the bum.  This isn't the first time that a Korean doctor said I needed a bum shot.  My first doctor said that I had the choice between a booty shot or one to the throat.  No brainer.   No needles to the throat.  Not gunna happen.  I got taken to a small back room, asked to pull down my pants and then... well, then the nurse slapped me!  And it was hard too.  And then she continued to slap me  Again and again and again.  Naughty naughty little nurse.  Well, her hit trick worked because I was too appalled to even feel the needle. 

Today was the same procedure.  One tiny warning slap, then a BIG one, then a continuous pattern of small taps.  Do I know what the shot's for?  Erm, no.  Did it help?  Really can't tell you.  I was marched straight back to work right after. 

So what do you need to know if you're ever sick in Korea? 

1. Doctor's Clinic's are not open 24/7.  They actually kind of shut down for their lunch hour and they close for the day around 7 pm. 

2. Doctor's here like to prescribe shots.  Shots to the throat and shots to the badonkadonk.  Hooraaayyy.

3. Hospitals and the pharmacy are closed on the weekend.  Sure, the hospitals stay open, but nothing's really lit and if you're injured you can take yourself to the emergency room.  It's the only place that'll be open.  The pharmacy will be open on Saturday, but probably not on Sunday. 

4. You usually get a packet o' pills from the pharmacist.  Each packet contains anywhere from 3-7 (or more) pills.  I feel like a druggie whenever I have to pop the bazillion pills into my mouth every 4 hours. 

5. Take someone who speaks fluent Korean with you to the doctor's and make sure it's not your boss.  I have a tiny feeling that she might have slightly misinterpreted what the doc said.  I'm pretty sure he said my throat was fine and that my lungs were filled with liquid. He probably even told her that I needed to rest at home for a few days.  Who knows?

But enough of that doom and gloom.  The upside is that going to the doctor's is dirt cheap.  I spent approximately $3.50 today and that included my shot!  There's an upside to everything!

Promise I'll have more upbeat posts once I conquer this bad boy.  Until then, back to my spot on the couch.

Your Daily Gem.

Well this little gem actually comes from yours truly.  A little while ago we were out to eat with a few of our friends.  Aria was telling a story of how she was offering all of us candy at work and how Landis didn't want any.  I decided that it would be an appropriate time to shout, "I had her piece!".  The table abruptly fell silent and a few faces had dropped.  I had no idea what the big problem was.  Finally Claire asked, "You had herpes?"

Definitely won't make that mistake again. 

Who has two thumbs and was tested for SWINE FLU?

This girl.

Today was pretty awful, not going to lie.  First, I've been suffering from some sort of plague the past few days.  There's fluid in my lungs, and I'm coughing up a disgustingly huge amount of colorful phlegm.  Painted you a pretty picture there, didn't I?  I had the chills so bad that I wrapped myself up in a blanket and then put a sleeping bag around me.  It got to the point that I didn't want to even go to the bathroom (even though after a dozen Gatorades I really, really had to) because it's so much colder than the rest of the flat.  On the other hand, I woke up this morning at 5 am feeling ridiculously hot.  So hot that I marched myself to the bathroom, stripped down and lied on the tiled floor just so I could cool down. 

So that's pretty bad right?  To add insult to injury I also had to work today.  I know what you're thinking.  "But Tawny, it's Saturday.  Why the EFF did you have to work today?"  Well, as you may recall we had a "snow day" on Monday.  The whole town was closed down and there was no way anyone was getting to our school.  We were given an ultimatum- either we somehow march our booties to school in over a foot of blizzarding snow (4 miles, mind you) or  we have make-up classes on Saturday.  It wasn't really a choice was it? 

My co-workers and I begrudgingly dragged ourselves to work.  We've all been really sick lately, but there's literally nothing you can do when you work in a Hogwan.  Your contract states that you get a certain amount of "sick days" but the reality is that your director's pretty much the only one that can really decided whether you get to stay home or not.  Your best bet is to somehow find another foreign teacher to work for you.  If not, you are SOL. 

Aria was feeling extra sick and could barely lift her head.  After we sorted out her schedule and forced her to go to the doctor she finally got herself to the hospital.  Why was she feeling so bad?  Oh... because she has swine flu!  SWINE FLU!  Are you serious?  We spend hours together in a little room and both of us were experiencing the same symptoms.   You best believe I hightailed it out of work and went to the nearest hosital to get tested. 

And let me tell you, Korean hospitals are creeeeeepy.  Do.not.like.  For starters, Korean hospitals kind of close down on the weekends.  The only part of the hospital that is really open (and lit) is the emergency room.  Well, emergency center.  It's a big room where people can sit, or lie on a cot and get an iv drip.  It's also where they do surgeries and tests.  So as I was waiting for my swine flu test I saw multiple people rolled in on stretchers.  There were patients walking around the hospital in their little outfits dragging their iv drips behind them or rolling around in their wheelchairs. 



<>

nearly deserted.

I finally got a hold of the boy and he rushed to meet me.  He got there just as I was about to get tested.  How do they test?  Well, they asked me a bunch of questions in Korean and then told me to open my mouth.  All I saw was a long sort of stick.  I wasn't sure if they were going to take my temperature or give me a shot in the throat.  Luckily they only shoved it all the way down my throat and swabbed around.  We had to wait 30 minutes before we got the results. 

Well, no flu of the swine variety for me folks.  Nope, I just have the good ol' regular flu.  Wheeew.  I've been hopped up on meds and lying on the couch ever since.  I'm hoping that I'll be able to combat this bad boy and feel better by Monday because I know there's absolutely no way I'll get a sick day. 

Sad girl.

Things You Should Know About Travel in the Philippines

So as you know, the boy and I recently returned from a trip to the beautiful Philippines.  As always, we learned so much in just the short time that we were there.  We also learned some information that we think is valuable to all future travelers to the Philippines.  Just a few pieces of advice.  Keep in mind that these can be useful anywhere you go and are not only limited to the Philippines.  

Take Cash.  

Cash cash cash.  There are ATMs everywhere on the big islands like Manila or Cebu, but Siquijor only had one (I think).  Travel with cash.  Cards aren't accepted at as many places as you'd think.  I know a lot of people are worried about carrying a bunch of cash on them, but believe me, you'll be more secure if you have it on you rather than being penniless with no access to your accounts.   Even when we stumbled upon ATMs in Dumaguete, none of them ended up taking my Master Card. 

There are fees.  Fees for everything. 

If you are planning on traveling by plane, bus or ferry while in the Philippines, be prepared to be charged a terminal fee.  Oh, and they only take cash.  Fees range from place to place.  At the domestic airport we were charged 400 pesos per person just to get to our gate.  The terminal fee at the ferry cost us only 15 pesos.  The international airport in Manila charged us a whopping 750 pesos just so we could go through security.  If we didn't have cash on us we would have been royally screwed.  You know, seeing as the only ATM at the airport wasn't accepting anyone's cards. 

Take a metered cab or negotiate 1/3 of the initial price.

We have a theme.  Whenever we go somewhere new and we have to take a taxi, we always get taken to the bank by our first driver.  It never fails.  If they can smell your "newbie scent" they will take you for all that your worth.  We calculate that they'll probably charge you quadruple what the price really is for the locals.  Yeah yeah yeah... we can act as savvy as we want, but taxi fare is just so hard to figure out.   It's the one thing that we kind of fail at.

So how was our first ride in the Philippines you ask?  Well, as soon as we got out of the airport we were approached by a man that worked for the airport.  He organized a ride for us and even had a fancy schmancy notebook that had all of the fares to each region of Manila.  He found where our hotel was supposed to be and told us that it was about 40 minutes away.  I thought it was strange because we specifically booked the hotel because it was supposed to be near the airport.  This wasn't the first time that a hotel website lied to me.  Le boo.  The total cost was 1,200 pesos which calculates to around $35 USD.  That wouldn't be bad back in the States, but hot damn... it's a lot of money in the Philippines.

Traffic was bad, but we eventually got to our hotel.  We even left a little Christmas tip for our driver.  We waltzed through the door and told the man at the desk that we were checking in.  He looked confused.  As we started to look around I realized that the name of the hotel was different than the one we had booked.  Are you cereal?  So yeah, we ended up walking for about 20 minutes until we found a metered cab.  He also had no idea where our hotel was, but he called his buddy and then turned on the meter.  Turns out, the hotel is ridiculously close to the airport and the cab ride cost us a whopping 200 pesos.  Bahaha. 

Another useful tip is to ask the hotel staff how much it would cost them to go to your destination.  If you're taking a tuk-tuk or a tricycle the fare will be relatively cheap, but you can get it lowered even more if you know what the locals pay.  When we asked the staff at our hotel in Dumaguete how much a tricycle ride to the airport would cost they told us 50 pesos.  The driver initially asked for 200.  Not so fast, mister.   After about 20 seconds of negotiation we were on our way to the airport with 150 pesos saved.  Cha-chiing.

Keep your belongings safe.

Duh.  We didn't experience any crime while we were on our trip, be we were warned beforehand to keep all of our valuables on our person.  Our hotels also warned us not to keep anything of value in our room.  It's pretty difficult when you're traveling with expensive video equipment, a waterproof camera, a Canon 550D,  and a laptop.  Most places will let you rent out a safe to store your valuables in when you're on the go.  We never felt any real threat since we were on a secluded beach on a relatively secluded island- but just be warned.  Keep 'em secret, keep 'em safe.

Your Daily Gem.

Jenny:  Teacher, people are monkeys.

Me:  Is that what you believe?

Jenny:  No teacher, I believe in God.

Me:  Me too, Jenny.

Andy:  Is that "Sky God"?

Isaac:  Teacher, some people believe in Buddha.

Jenny:  Yes.  But teacher, I don't believe in booty.  I believe in sky God.